1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to refractory kiln furniture and particularly a supporting and guiding means for use as a firing aid in the firing of hollow high tension electrical wire insulators and similar elongated ceramic or refractory ware having a length of about and more than 2 m (6.562 ft.), comprising a refractory support column or firing aid disposed on and supported by a movable carriage or kiln car and provided at its upper end with a movable guide member for holding and guiding the insulator during firing in a kiln.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With known supporting and guiding means of the kind recited above each individual electrical insulator is surrounded in part by a refractory support column composed of silicon carbide (SiC) rings and having at its upper end a movable guide member for supporting and guiding the insulator. As each insulator requires its own support column, the volumetric ratio between the firing aid or support column and material or insulator to be fired is approximately 4:1 which means that the firing procedure involves correspondingly high costs of firing. Moreover, the support column takes up relatively great space on the firing car so that the utilization of the space available is poor.
It is, therefore, the object of the invention to provide a supporting and guiding means having an improved volumetric ratio between the firing aid or support column and material or structure to be fired and permitting the firing or kiln car to be loaded at optimum utilization of the space available.